Nick of Time
by Gubby Numptions
Summary: High school AU (because I'm not creative). PepsiCola. A bit of sadstuck with a fluffy twist.


Your name is John Egbert. Today you began your second semester of classes in your junior year of high school at Sturtz High.  
You awoke in a bit of a fog, to the sound of your alarm clock blaring. 6:00.  
Letting a loud groan slide from your mouth, you slapped the top of the clock to shut it off, rolling onto your back.  
It's gonna suck getting up this early again.  
The day is March 27, 2013. Your birthday and those of your friends were right around the corner.  
From under your covers, you slipped out of bed and onto your feet, taking your sweet time.  
Getting a pair of pants from your drawers, you tossed them on over your (admittedly embarrassing) slimer boxers, also retrieving and donning your favorite white shirt - of course emblazoned with the same symbol.  
Trudging your way downstairs, you rubbed your eyes and smelled a cake baking. At 6 in the morning. Your dad was up baking again, no doubt in celebration of the "momentous occasion".  
"MY DEAR JOHN," He turned the corner from the kitchen into the living room, an under-adorned cake on a plate that he held in one hand.  
"I AM SO PROUD OF YOU. YOU HAVE NEARLY COMPLETED YOUR MANDATORY EDUCATION COURSES. THIS, OF COURSE, IS REASON FOR CELEBRATION."  
You gave him a slight smile in response.  
"Thanks, dad. I think I'll save that one until after school, if that's okay."  
His eyes widened in surprise, before narrowing in thought.  
"YES. WHEN YOU RETURN, THERE WILL BE EVEN MORE THAN THIS ONE WAITING FOR YOU."  
Shrugging, you moved near the door to slip on your shoes and retrieve your backpack, putting a hand on the doorknob.  
"Yeah, sure, think of it like that! I'll be back soon."  
He waved you out as you left and began your trek to school.  
When you began the school year, he _insisted_ that you let him drive you to school, despite it being only a short, brisk walk away.  
Now, he seems to recognize you as an increasingly independent 'young man', a term which you're glad to hear when it comes up in conversation.  
During your walk, you crossed paths with Rose, a friend from the last semester.  
She was looking nice as always, not that you were interested in her or anything, as much as some of your friends' insistence to the contrary would have people believe. They're so off the mark with their guesses it's unbelievable.  
She smirked. "You seem to be lost in thought. What's on your mind?"  
Your inner lamentations prevented you from noticing your obvious stare.  
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking about the insane amounts of cake I'm gonna have to choke down later."  
That earned you a rare giggle from her.  
"Right. Somehow a father who fills a house with confections is a bad thing. Meanwhile, my mother is already purchasing inane amounts of graduation gowns."  
"You'd think it would be a better deal than it really is! But the FROSTING."  
Before you could continue your cake rant, you arrived at school at the first bell. You and Rose parted ways to go to first period.  
First period, of course, was English taught by Mr. Ercassas. Half the time you couldn't even understand the guy, and the other half was him using whimsical synonyms for everyday words.  
Like, come on, 'sesquipedalian'? What does that even mean?  
He tossed a large textbook onto his desk with a thump, settling into his seat at the front of the class as the second bell rang. He always had that big old book.  
But that's not what you were interested in.  
Ercassas droned on as you noticed that the seat normally occupied by your friend Dave was empty. He wasn't the best in the ways of attendance, but you know that even his Bro wouldn't stand for him to miss the very first day back.  
It left your mind until Dave finally appeared, walking into class about 15 minutes late. He was wearing a pretty snazzy shirt, one that you hadn't seen before, red with a gear of the slightly-brighter-red persuasion on it.  
You smiled at him, but didn't seem to catch his eyes. Not that you'd know if you did behind those shades. So cool.  
Ercassas gave him a warning chock full of prose that was seemingly fully ignored. Dave shuffled, dropped his backpack rather unceremoniously, and took his seat.  
That's unlike him... Normally he'd make some kind of snarky retort. For the rest of the class, he simply sat. Face blank, hands clasped together.  
Now you were worried. You and him always fooled around during class, and by the time the bell rang again, you were itching to see what was wrong.  
He shot up almost immediately, taking his backpack and making his way across the room, forcing you to hot-foot it over to him.  
"Hey, hey, Dave! Uh... How was your break?"  
The only response you got was a sigh, and he turned his head down to the side.  
"I'd rather not talk about it, dude."  
He left the room, but you were hot on his trail.  
"You sure? Are you okay?"  
Aggravated, he turned around in the middle of the hall.  
"It's Terezi, okay? She broke up with me. Tossed me to the side like a dizzy pitcher. Like, like... Fuck, I don't have the energy for this."  
Dave and Terezi had been together since freshman year. They were so good together, and to hear that they ended their relationship really got to you.  
"Oh... Are you okay?"  
He simply scoffed.  
"I'm fine, John. Any more questions?"  
You could think of one.  
"Yeah. Would you be up for some cake after school?"


End file.
